The Internet, which is a human centered connectivity network where humans generate and consume information, is now evolving to the Internet of Things (IoT) where distributed entities, such as things, exchange and process information without human intervention. The Internet of Everything (IoE), which is a combination of the IoT technology and the Big Data processing technology through connection with a cloud server, has emerged. As technology elements, such as “sensing technology”, “wired/wireless communication and network infrastructure”, “service interface technology”, and “Security technology” have been demanded for IoT implementation, a sensor network, a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication, Machine Type Communication (MTC), and so forth have been recently researched.
Such an IoT environment may provide intelligent Internet technology services that create anew value to human life by collecting and analyzing data generated among connected things. IoT may be applied to a variety of fields including smart home, smart building, smart city, smart car or connected cars, smart grid, health care, smart appliances and advanced medical services through convergence and combination between existing Information Technology (IT) and various industrial applications.
Owing to the recent dramatic development of information and communication technology and hardware/software technology for mobile communication terminals, various types of terminals such as mobile communication terminal, Personal Computer (PC), and the like are configured to execute various functions (programs or applications) through a high-speed mobile communication network. Particularly, smart devices such as ‘smartphone’ and ‘tablet PC’ are popular. A variety of applications can be installed or deleted freely in a smart device.
Applications installed in a smartphone acquire and use location information. For example, a specific application of a UE can acquire location information about the UE and transmit the location information to a server of a network and the server provides a service based on the location information about the UE. However, since the location history of the UE is stored. in the server, the location of a user may be disclosed unintentionally. Because other personal information can be derived from the location information, the location information about the user (that is, the UE) is important information requiring security rather than simple location information.
However, users are not aware on the whole that various applications acquire their location information and their personal information can be disclosed from the location information. When an application is installed, a conventional smartphone notifies a user that the application acquires the user's location information or displays a query asking the user whether to allow the application to acquire the location information, on a User Interface (UI). However, since the notification or query regarding location information acquisition is one of mandatory steps for application installation, users tend not to pay proper attention to the notification or query.
Moreover, with (not specific application-level control but) Operating System (OS)-level control of access to location information about a UE or control of access to location information at the moment of installing an application, various environments that may be generated during execution of the application are not coped with appropriately as well as the characteristics of applications having various requirements for location information are not reflected.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.